Slice of Brawl
by The Green Knugget
Summary: A collection of stories chronicling some instances of life for the Smashers aboard their capital space station, Smash Sentry, and elsewhere. Update: Ch 3: Nightmare A La Luigi
1. Ch 1: Of Intros and Bread

_Hope you enjoy it. Constructive critiques please._

_Nintendo Characters are all copyrighted by Nintendo.  
_

**Slice of Brawl**

By: The Green Knugget

* * *

**Chapter One: Of Intros and Bread  
**

High above the planet Terra hung a station that residents of Terra knew as the Smash Sentry. It was a silver colored space station that was oblong in shape, rounded on one end and tapering down into a needle-like end. On the rounded end of the Smash Sentry was a symbol that could only be described as being a round circle with two perpendicular lines intersecting at the lower left of the circle. Around the large symbol were smaller drawings, each an emblem proudly denoting the worlds from which the members of the fellowship within the station come from. A mushroom with two small eyes on the stalk, a circle divided with a horizontal line and a smaller circle in the middle, a star with rounded points, a collection of three triangles forming a larger triangle pointing upward were among the few other symbols that were glowing under the beaming stars. But though these symbols may interest those who take a cursory look at the space station floating around the blue planet, the group of members within the station may astound those who decide to take a closer look into the matter. For these members, these band of brothers (and sisters), are a collection of diverse individuals from the far reaches of many worlds united together under a common cause, bound together by a shared goal. Within this station they convene to discuss matters that, alone, they could not overcome, but joined, are able to fight their way to victory. Within this station they come to watch over and protect the worlds they were entrusted with, vigilant in their duties.

It is, also, within this place, where they could also choose to stay for a while, resting in their quarters, enjoying their next meal with their friends and comrades, researching in the library, taking in the stunning view of space and the marvels of creation in sight, or even performing something as off-beat as baking bread.

Perhaps, more precisely, it was Falco Lombardi who took a sudden interest in baking bread as the other members of the Smash Team noticed due to the occasional smudges of flour they would see sticking on the otherwise impeccibly dressed anthropomorphic bird of prey. When asked by Fox McCloud why he decided to bake bread, Falco curtly replied, with his accented voice, "It'sa new hobby of moine...and I like bread." Though this quelled some of the questions that other members of the Smash Team had of Falco's new activity, this awakened questions pertaining to how Falco's Bread tastes like.

One day, Princess Peach was walking down the corridor that lead to the kitchen in the hopes of replacing one of her own frying pans with one from the kitchen area as the frying pan she was carrying down the corridor had multiple dints from the countless times she had employed it for great justice. "Well, I hope no one would mind me take one of pans they have..." she said to herself as she waltzed to the kitchen. Just as she was about to enter, she sensed a fragrant aroma coming from the kitchens, strong enough to stop her in her tracks.

"Mmm...something smells wonderful!" remarked Princess Peach as she stood in front of the station kitchen's doors. The blonde royal from the Mushroom Kingdom closed her eyes and took a deep breath, savoring the rich smell of baked crust. Strong was the fragrance that she momentarily forgot what she was doing near the kitchen and stood there, enraptured by the flow of olfactorial pleasure. If there were a way to describe the sensation that Peach felt when smelling the scent of warm bread, it would have been the sensation of mellow colors melding into a rolling hillside with the colors of gold and brown slowly interlocking themselves together. From that sensation, Peach believed...nay, she knew that this was no ordinary bread that she was smelling.

While Princess Peach stood in front of the kitchen, deliberating on whether or not to enter the kitchen and continue on in search of a new frying pan, there came down from the hall Ness and Lucas, both with clothes dripping wet. A sullen attitude between the two was apparent to any casual observer as both were frowning, smoldering in frustration. As if their faces weren't enough to give a person a clue as to their mood, their conversation may have dispelled any doubts.

"You were holding the box too high." Ness said testly to Lucas.

"Did not" countered the boy as he tried to fix his sopping blonde hair back the way it was, "you were holding it too low."

"I had to," sighed Ness as he wrung his baseball hat in a futile effort to dry it, "the container contained too much water to hold it high."

"Well, if you hadn't carried it too low..." started Lucas when he stopped. "Hey, do you smell that?"

"Now don't you-" said Ness before sniffing the air, "Wait I also smell it too. Hey, look. It's Princess Peach."

As both boys came closer to the still Princess, they became engulfed in a deluge of sensory pleasures. Upon smelling the bread, Ness thought of the times when he would triumphantly hold up a bread roll from a defeated enemy, munching on it as he made his way around his hometown Onett. For Lucas, he was pulled into the stream of memories where his mother brought him a warm breakfast of bread and omlettes for both him and his twin brother, Claus. A smile crept up on Ness' face whilst a small tear rolled down Lucas' face. Slowly, both Ness and Lucas stood in front of the kitchen alongside the princess, ignoring their wet clothes and wondering what sort of miracle was being produced in the kitchen.

After a moment, both boys noticed that the princess moved to open the kitchen doors. All three held their breath, wondering if this wonderful sensation would end once the princess opened the door, as if an enchantment would break. Much to their relief and to their joy, they felt a warm breath of air, full of the scent of bread, flowing towards them, caressing their noses with the alluring scent of baking. Soon, all three peeked their heads into the kitchen to see what was going on, only to lock their eyes upon Falco wearing an apron, kneading a new fresh batch of dough, whilst singing softly about an electronic plantain-appliance.

The three watched in awe as Falco, the fierce pilot, the deadly marksman, the one with a surefire cocky attitude, was going about a process as delicate as making bread. But they knew that it wasn't any sort of bread. It was bread that had the power to stop a being in its tracks, momentarily drinking in the scent and left wanting more. It was bread that could go well with any meal no matter what. It was bread that, the three imagined, could last for many years and still taste great. It wasn't any sort of bread. It was Falco's bread.

Eventually, Falco noticed the prescence of the princess and the two boys staring at him and, stopping his song, lifted his eyes from the dough and onto the three. He stopped kneading the dough, brushed his hands and folded his arms in front of his chest, smirking while the three walked into the kitchen.

"Well, well, well," Falco started "if it ain't the princess and the PK Kiddos. Whaddayah want, hmm?"

The two boys both did a double take, stunned, wondering if they heard Falco refer to them as "PK Kiddos". Princess Peach, slightly taken back by the change in attitude, cleared her throat and said, "Hello there, Falco. I was just coming here for a new pan, see?" Peach hoisted a dented frying pan in display. "And, well, I just smelled what was baking and...I-well it seems we" she glanced at the two boys who looked back at her, wondering as to what she was going to say, "were wondering if we could have some of your bread?" The Princess waited for a reply.

Falco seemed to pause as he heard the request. Though he didn't change his posture, his smirk, briefly, disappeared for a moment. Almost as if a look of fear for his work of art flashed in his face before his smirk came back, if a bit forced. Falco replied, "Well, why should I give it to ya? Hmm?"

"Because" started Ness, "the smell of your bread reminds me of home."

"And it also reminds me of...well...family." added Lucas as he controlled himself from crying.

"I guess what we mean" continued Princess Peach, "is that your bread smells good and we believe that your bread would taste good as well. Please, wouldn't you let us try some?"

Falco stood there, considering their words, wondering if he should give them some of his bread. After a long pause, he turned his backs towards them. The three were stunned at his action and, not knowing what else to do, decided to turn around and leave Falco with his bread. Slowly they walked out of the kitchen, one by one, feeling slighted and saddened. They started to walk down the corridor.

"Hey, Listen!" crowed a voice. The three turned their heads around to see the blue bird of prey stick his head out.

"Look, sorry fer the silent reception." said Falco, almost apologetically as he walked outside the kitchen, "but I've decided that you guys could try some of it. No harm in giving it to those who could appreciate it most." Falco said, somewhat sheepishly. "But" Falco added in a harder tone of voice, "don't get too greedy with it. Otherwise" Falco swept his feathered hands in a horizontal slashing motion, "Hands off my bread!"

Princess Peach, Ness, and Lucas brightened at the prospect of enjoying some of Falco's bread and with that all four walked back into the kitchen area to try some of Falco's bread.


	2. Ch 2: Nap Densetsu

**Chapter 2: Nap Densetsu**

All Pikachu wanted to do was to sleep.

The trouble, however, started earlier than the yellow electric rodent Pokemon had planned. Though Pikachu initially planned on going down to the surface of Terra via telepods in order to enjoy a warm nap under the shade of a tree in the midst of a warm afternoon sun, he soon learned in his mousy dismay that the telepods were broken. As was the case, the telepods have blown a fuse after having teleported Mr. Game and Watch down to the surface of Terra. (Mr. Game and Watch, by and by, went down the surface of Terra to entertain the children of one of the local towns with his various tricks and antics.) Despite being perplexed by the rather strange and acrimonious interaction between the flat resident of Flatland and the teleporter, the maintinence staff went to work to fix the teleporters, though, they estimate that it would take a day to complete the reconstruction of the components and the repairs of the telepod. Miffed at being told the news, Pikachu decided that he would get his nap, no matter what, on board the space station.

Pikachu made his way through the lighted corridors, occasionally passing by staff members as well as people from other worlds. Making a beeline for the quarters area, Pikachu started a faster scamper for the quarters that was designed for him. But as he made his way to the door, he found out, to his dismay, that it was locked! Pikachu looked at the closed door, engraved with the Pokeball symbol, with a mix of frustrataion and confusion crossing his mousy face.

"Name. Identification. Please" an electronic voice asked nearby Pikachu.

"PIKA!" shouted Pikachu in surprise at the sound of the voice. Taking a defensive posture, Pikachu's red cheeks started to spark with electricity skipping out at intervals, whist he looked around.

"Name. Identification. Please." the electronic voice asked again politely.

Pikachu just then realized that the source of the voice came from a small terminal next to the door. Cautiously, Pikachu crept closer to the terminal, waiting to make sure that it would not leap out and attack. Surprise and shock gave way to curiousity over the device as Pikachu came closer to it. Crawling up to the terminal, Pikachu sniffed at the terminal, wondering what it was.

"Name. Identification. Please." the electronic voice repeated.

"Pika-pika?" muttered Pikachu at the strange request of the machine. As if in response to what Pikachu had said, the terminal beeped and replied.

"Name. Identification. Incorrect." the terminal spat out. "Please. Try. Again."

Pikachu looked at the machine in amazement, then replied, "Piiii?"

"Name. Identification. Incorrect." the terminal spat out. "Please. Try. Again."

"Pika! Pika-pi-pi-Pikachu-pi! Pika-Pika!" protested the yellow Pokemon. "Pika-pi-pi-Pikachu!!" shouted the electric rodent as he started to pound, futilely, against the terminal in an effort to convince it that he really is who he really is.

"Name. Identification. Incorrect." the terminal spat out. "Please. Try. Again."

A mix of shock and anger roiled through the electric rodent, as if it was saying that the way he said his name was not to the terminal's liking. Just as Pikachu was about to say something else, Pikachu espied a man in khaki's, a striped shirt, and a loose fitting lab coat walking down the corridor. Recognizing the man as Professor Elm, Pikachu started scampering to the individual.

"Pika Pika!" said Pikachu as he reached the professor. Professor Elm looked around for a moment in confusion before taking a look down. Upon seeing Pikachu's face, his face lighted up and he bent down to Pikachu's height.

"Why, if it isn't Pikachu!" the professor exclaimed, "Well, how are you doing?"

"Pi pika pika pi" said Pikachu as he gestured to the small terminal.

"Ah yes, the terminal...well that was installed very recently...heh heh...they were just finished with that and they were hoping to tell everyone that the terminals were installed fairly recently. Unfortunately" Professor Elm rose up, scratching his head, "something got lost in the announcements or on the bullitens." He looked down at Pikachu. "You happened to catch it, by the way, did you?"

Pikachu frowned and crossed his little mousy arms to express the annoyance he felt.

"My bad, my bad, I remember you cannot read" Professor Elm laughed sheepishly, "er, can you?"

"Pi" sighed Pikachu as he shook his head in disappointment.

"Hmm...well, what you need to do is to say your name out loud once and clearly and it will open it for you." said Professor Elm as he and Pikachu made their way to the terminal. "Why not give it another shot?"

"Pi" said Pikachu in agreement. Turning toward the terminal, Pikachu took a breath and said, "Pikachu."

The terminal beeped and hummed, then said, "Name. Identification. Verified."

"Wonderful, Pikachu," said Professor Elm at the happy Pokemon. "It seems that you have managed to open the..er..the...hmm" The professor glanced at the door that was still closed. "I wonder, what is wrong." muttered Professor Elm as he bent to take a look at the terminal along with Pikachu. Just then...

"Punch. In. The. Five. Digit. Code. Please" garbled the electronic voice as it extended a keypad for use.

Both Professor Elm and Pikachu stood there, stunned in silence, staring at the keypad as if it was an offending piece of literature or a disgusting piece of slime that one picked up from the sea. For a moment the two stood there, looking.

"Ah!" the Professor snapped in surprise, "There needed to be a digit code as well! Heh heh...why didn't I remember tha-uh, Pikachu?" The Professor looked down the angered Pokemon. Realization crossed his eyes and forced him to back pedel away from Pikachu.

"Er...now, now, Pikachu, don't do anything of that sort of madness...eh heh..." the Professor said, slightly lamely.

"Pi-pi?" The angry rodent responded to the Professor before turning to the terminal. "PIIII! KAAAA! CHHUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!" the Pokemon yelled before sending in massive amounts of electricity into the terminal. The few passerbys in the corridor who happened to chance upon the scene made for a mad dash away from the angered Pokemon while electricity danced and surged around the air, crackling and producing a smell of ozone within the air. The bolts of lightning flew around and about before the terminal in front of Pikachu exploded.

"PIKA-PI!!" shouted the surprised rodent as he flew out into the air from the explosion. Anticipating the floor, Pikachu closed his eyes, awaiting the hard landing. To Pikachu's surprise, he landed on something soft and warm, sufficient to break his fall. Opening his eyes slowly, Pikachu turned to see that, to his dismay, he landed upon Professor Elm...or rather, the shocked body of Professor Elm, charred by the lightning, with the sheepish grin paralyzed on his face.

"Pi..." Pikachu said, embarressed and apologetic at shocking the professor. Taking a look around, Pikachu slowly moved away from the shocked professor before going all out on a quick run away from the scene, shouting "PiKAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaa!!"

For a moment, after Pikachu's voice faded, there was silence. Then, came a sound of a WOOSH as the doors to Pikachu's quarters opened.

"W-w-wel-lllll-ccc-cc-c-cccommmeeee-" garbled the scrambled electronic voice before it faded as it powered down.


	3. Ch 3: Nightmare A La Luigi

_Author's Note: Apologies for not updating this small fanfiction of mine. Real Life has kept me pretty busy. Also, fixed the first chapter to include the copyright information.  
_

**Chapter 3: Nightmare A La Luigi**

It was night...well, as close to night as one could get upon Smash Sentry.

Luigi was worn down from the day after helping build up the new Smash Manor. He didn't mind working on the new sewer and plumbing system as it kept him occupied and doing something that he and his brother, Mario, would do whenever there isn't a Koopa invasion or trouble with a neighboring kingdom of beans. Still, he hoped that these plumbing pipes would guarantee that Pirahna Plants wouldn't spout out and start attempting to devour the next resident who goes to the restroom or the kitchens and such.

'Sigh', though Luigi as he started washing up from the day of hard work. 'Though I wish Mario would have helped me weld the pipes instead of having to go help the Princess...sigh' thought Luigi, somewhat depressed, 'It can't be helped, I guess' he mused silently in his quarters, as he put on his green and white pajamas, placing a pajama night cap in the spot where his green hat would have been. 'The Princess does have a special place in his heart...but I wish I had some sort of help...sigh...'

Luigi grimaced as he held his troubled stomach. 'Urgh...I guess I shouldn't have had that dinner...I do love spaghetti with mushrooms like the next plumber and all...but those mushrooms tasted...strange...'

Feeling somewhat odd and slightly dejected at having had worked on the piping alone for a while, Luigi dimmed the lights and climbed into his bed, slowly reflecting on what has happened that day as he fell softly into sleep.

Tap tap...tap tap...was the sound Luigi heard coming from the door just as he was about to fall into sleep. He peeked open his eyes, wondering what it was that was making the sound. After a silent moment, he decided it was nothing and closed his eyes.

Tap tap...tap tap...came the sound again. Slightly irritated, Luigi opened his eyes again and looked at the door. 'Who wants me in this time of the hour', thought Luigi in an irritated manner. He looked at the door, wondering if there was a way to look out of the door to see who it was that was disturbing his slumber. Thinking of what to say to the person who was tapping at his door, he got out of his bed, wore his Sarasa Land slippers and started trudging to the door to see who it was that was tapping on the door.

Then, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck creep up. He shivered and felt queasy, wondering if it was the mushrooms that were doing the job. But then he realized that there was something about the door or what lay beyond it...a feeling of malice seemed to emanate from the door, as if it wanted to drag the plumber deep into it for the sole purpose of twisting him and watching him scream in agony. Luigi stood his ground, quivering in fear at what lay beyond the door. Then he felt it. It was like an imperceptible feeling of someone grabbing hold onto his very being and dragging him closer and closer to the door despite all the resistance he mustered.

Knock knock...knock knock...the sound came louder from the door, less insistent on whether there was a residence, desiring that the person come to the door. A cold sweat broke out on Luigi, his breath coming shorter and faster than before. Never in his life has he felt like this even before facing ghosts, armed with only the Poltergust 3000. Noting that his throat was dry, Luigi swallowed, and in a quiet voice asked, "Wh-who's there?"

A small squelching and scratching was the response before...

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM! The sound grew into an unholy terror, showing its rage at the occupant of the room, insistent that it will come into the room and rip the occupant to shreds...the force of the sound was such that the door gave way, each sound producing a terrifying dent into the door. Not being able to bear watching or listening to the freak spectacle, Luigi shut his eyes tight and clapped his hands over his ears, only to be greeted with the rapid thumping of his heart and a stifled scream that grew within the very core of his being as the terror started to bore down into his mind. He then felt a rushing wind blow past him and into the door, growing ever stronger until he felt himself lifted up and thrown head-long, into the doorway.

"WwwwwaaaAAAAaaaaaAAAaaaaHHHHhhhhHHH!" Luigi screamed, eyes closed shut.

As Luigi soared past the door, he heard the door seemingly slam shut behind him as abruptly as it had been bashed open before. A moment later, Luigi felt himself hit the floor of the Smash Sentry with a squelch. Rising up, in terror of what it could be that he landed, he opened his eyes to see that the floor looked like any other floor on the Smash Sentry. But upon observing closer, he saw that the floor pulsated and quivered, a regular tempo roiling through the floor as if an invisible heart pulsated through the entire station. A miniature squeeling noise seemed to come in intervals, as if the floor was excreting something. A wet damp humid oder seemed to swarm all over Luigi, making him feel sick in the stomach. Luigi tried to steady himself by leaning on the walls, only to feel the same sickening squelching feeling of the ground. Repulsed, Luigi quickly pushed himself off of the wall, making sure to make the least amount of contact with the freakish environment that he was in.

After taking in a few shaky breaths, Luigi looked around the hallway of the Smash Sentry and found, to his dismay, that the pulsating walls and floors had a sick faint greenish glow about them, an unearthly pale sort of green that Luigi found in the moldy containers of week old spaghetti left in the dark corner of a refrigerator. As Luigi fearfully wondered what to do next, he felt th backs of his hair stand almost involuntarily. He had a feeling that if he were to turn around, he would see someone or something staring at him, almost as if the eyes were boring into his very being. As he stood very still, uncertain of what to do next, he heard, as if in the distance, a labored breathing, wet, forced. To his horror, the breathing seemed to be coming closer, almost creeping behind him. Without even wondering what is at his back, Luigi, in terror, burst into a run.

Though Luigi ran as fast as he could, he felt as if he was making no progress at all. It was like in one of those dreams where one ends up running as fast as they could only to find out to their horror that they haven't moved at all. Worse still was the feeling that Luigi had as if he was going through molasses, struggling fiercely, futilely, against the force that held him back. Frightened, angered, Luigi looked down upon his legs to see what was going on when he realized to his horror that a pitch darkness seemed to slowly open up beneath him, creeping up to his waist. Just as Luigi was about to scream, he felt wet, slimy, tendrils whip quickly over his mouth and around his body, just as pitch black as the darkness itself. Not being able to take much more, Luigi fainted.

Slowly, Luigi felt himself conscious and awake, but with his eyes blindfolded by a tendril of darkness. He tried to get up, only to realize that he is tied down upon a stone table of some sort. Struggling against his bindings made Luigi realize that it was futile to force himself out. Not knowing what else to do, he listened.

Luigi didn't need to strain his ears to hear that there was a low murmur, a chanting in a guttural tongue that he didn't recognize, save for the fact that it repeated a phrase that he couldn't exactly make out. The sound was such that the place Luigi was in seemed to reverberate with force from the chanting even though the voices themselves were soft. The voices seemed to reach out around him, wrapping him with the words, as if they were embalming him for a ceremony. Luigi shuddered, wondering what they were chanting about. As he lay down on the place he was tied, Luigi wondered, amid the chanting, whether or not his friends would rescue him if they find out that he is gone. He wondered if Mario would help him out and rescue him from this place. Then, almost as if out of his control, a feeling of anger and frustration seemed to erupt silently from Luigi as he thought about his brother, of how his brother tends to get so much of the credit, of how his brother is so much more popular than he was, of how he, the younger, had to live in the short shadow of the older, of how he hasn't helped him or is not likely to help him in his trouble. How Luigi wanted to teach his brother a....

'What am I thinking!?' Luigi thought in surprise, 'How could I have been so resentful of him after all these years?' But these thoughts of clarity became obscured as the incense of revenge clouded Luigi's mind.

As Luigi was fuming over his brother, Luigi felt a change in the air. He heard the chanting grow softer and softer until it seemed to peter out and presently, he felt, to his dismay, that they have something in store for him.

The blindfold came off in a wet, rolling fashion that made Luigi shudder in disgust. His disgust was replaced with surprise, and then a quaking horror as he saw singular eyes in the darkness staring down at him, red with malice and anger. Averting his eyes away from the eyes that watched him in the dark, he looked in front only to be confronted with something else. In front of him was the faint glow of what seemed to be a massive large white object, with a dull red eye. Two large white wings and a dim halo seemed to surround the massive white object. The object, hung by tendrils of darkness, seemed to be inert, almost dead, as if it suffered a fatal blow from a bygone battle. Though it seemed to be dead, Luigi nearly screamed when he thought that the dull red eye of the white object seemed to shift to stare at him, a feeble malice borne from an ancient hatred that still seemed to burn in the white object.

Luigi started to struggle even harder at the tendrils that bound him, but to no avail. Looking around, he espied what seemed to be rocks with inscriptions on them, placed around the stone table. Without asking any other questions, Luigi reached for one that seemed to be carelessly placed close to his hand, and with a bit of effort, Luigi was able to grab it. Noting that it had a sharp edge to it, he tried to cut the bindings, but to no avail. As he continued his struggle, he felt a voice boom and echo into his mind. The force of the voice was enough that it stopped Luigi, startling him and diverting his attention away from his struggle.

"CEASE YOUR STRUGGLES, GREEN ONE!" boomed the mental voice in Luigi's mind.

Luigi then realized that something was descending above him. A soft moan of fright escaped his mouth when he realized it was some sort of darkness incarnate, with reddish petals surrounding its back and an angry red eye in the center. Before Luigi, the thing started to morph into a cloaked being with ancient symbols inscribed at the hems of the clothing. A scabbard stuck out from under the cloak, with the hilt protruding out of the cloak in front. The head of the being also formed, looking ancient, wrinkled, but the thing that terrified Luigi was that in place of eyes was a dark emptiness within the eye sockets, staring out at Luigi.

"M-m-mmmama mia!" muttered Luigi. Mustering up what little courage he had, Luigi asked, "W-who are y-you and what do you want?"

The cloaked figure replied with a mental sneer, "Who we are is of no concern to you, pathetic fool, for we shall reveal ourselves in due time. We, however, know who you are, One who is called Luigi. We know of your fears and of your desires. We know of the pains and pleasures that you have had. We see you when you are awake. We watch you in your sleep. We have been waiting for you..." the figure seemed to trail.

"W-wwhat for?" Luigi asked, terrified.

The cloaked figure said nothing for a moment, then slowly floated towards Luigi, its eye sockets seeming to give a sick twisted savage grin at the terrified plumber.

"This." and with a swift motion, the cloaked figure pulled out a knife with a black blade and stabbed Luigi into his heart. Luigi gasped as he felt something plunge into his heart, fearing, knowing, that he is going to be dead soon, wondering why they wanted to kill him in the first place. The pain and the agony was enough for Luigi to grip to scream, his cries echoing in the room that he was trapped in.

The cloaked figure twisted the blade and pulled it out savagely, as if with pleasure of having stabbed a living thing it detested. The black blade seemed to have a fragment, the tip of it, missing from it for a moment, before the blade regenerated again to form an unbroken knife. Without bothering to wipe the knife, the cloaked figure tucked it back into the fold of his cloak, whilst watching Luigi.

Luigi didn't know whether or not to look down, fearing that he would see himself bleed. He found out, to his surprise that there was no visible stab or a wound at all. Yet while he was wondering about this, he felt something worm around in his heart, almost with imperceptible motion, as if to settle itself into the core of his being.

"Wh-what have you done?" Luigi asked with breaths of surprise of being still alive.

Luigi saw the cloaked figure pull out an ornate mirror with symbols and pictures of hideous chimeras surrounding the mirror. The cloaked figure took a moment to polish the darkness off of the mirror before he pulled the mirror up to Luigi's level. What greeted Luigi's eyes was almost too much to bear. It was a face like his face, but it seemed to lack a mouth. Its eyes seemed to be lidless as it was staring away to the right of the mirror, with soulless eyes that seemed to peer deep into a person's very core of being. His skin was a pale white, like that of a sickly underbelly of a toad. His hat had a flipped "L" that faced to the left instead of the right. Then he saw that the reflection shifted its eyes towards him, as if to cut into the center of his being. Not being able to break away from the merciless gaze of the hideous being, Luigi screamed out loud, "Who is this! This is not me!?"

The cloaked figure chuckled, not letting the mirror go escape Luigi's face. "He is you. The One That Stares." With that, the cloaked figure laughed maniacally, fiercely.

Slowly, Luigi's heart started to pound, even harder and harder. The sound of the pounding seemed to wash up over Luigi's ears and engulfed him as he screamed and screamed and screamed and screamed and...

Luigi woke up, yelling, rising out of his bed, his bed drenched in cold sweat. Looking around, he realized that he was on the Sentry. The darkness of his quarters was only muted by the dim glow of the lights from the hallway underneath the intact door. The clock next to his bed stated that it was still night and that Luigi has slept for only four hours. Noting that there was nothing amiss, Luigi sighed. "It was all just a nightmare..." Luigi relaxed, then grimaced at the memory of his meal before. "I'm never going to have those mushrooms again...ugh..."

Shaking, but still relieved, Luigi went to the restroom and turned on the light. He looked into the mirror only to be greeted by his own goofy face, with frazzled bed hair missing a night cap. He sighed a sigh of relief. He took time to wash his face when he heard a small thump near his bed. Instinctively, Luigi turned around, thinking that he might be attacked, only to see that there was nothing behind him. Curious, but cautious, Luigi walked slowly towards the foot of his bed to see what it was that fell down. Not being able to see what it was, he crouched down to pick it up.

He found that the thing he picked up was a rock with a symbol and a sharp edge to it.

Luigi then felt someone or something stare at his back as the hairs of his back crept up. He turned around to see that it was a distorted replica of him, of the one who stared back in the mirror. While staring in horror at The One Who Stares, Luigi heard a distant voice cry out something that sounded like "wigi, wigi, wigi"

With that, Luigi screamed and screamed and...

"Luigi!"

Luigi woke up to see his brother, Mario, at the door.

"Come on, brother!" said Mario cheerfully, "We have a new day of work to do at the new Smash Manor!" and with that Mario closed the door to Luigi's quarter.

Luigi dressed up shakily, wondering if the whole thing was a dream or if the whole thing was real, whether that thing...The One Who Stares or something, was now with him forever...as he joined his brother at the Transporter Room, Luigi breathed a sigh of relief.

"Whatsamatter?" inquired Mario.

"Oh, it-ta wasa nothing..." replied Luigi.

"Well, I hope that you're hungry after today's work." smiled Mario as they got onto the teleportation pads.

"Why's that?" inquired Luigi as he positioned himself on the teleportation pad.

"Because it's your favorite! Spaghetti with Mushrooms!" said Mario, happily.

The only thing that Mario received upon sharing the news was a look of horror upon Luigi's face before the bright flash of light took them away to the surface of Terra.

Back in Luigi's room, upon the foot of the bed, there lay a rock with a symbol and a sharp edge...


End file.
